Monday, February 23, 2015

Day 3 - 40 Days Sugar Free - Granola

I make my own granola for about a year now. Store bought granola have too much sugars and additives in it. Besides I find it more affordable to make it myself.

If you never made granola you will find that it is more expensive to make it at first. Believe me, it will be more affordable if you make it more often.

For my version you will need:

3 cups of Old Fashioned Oats

1,5 cup of roughly chopped nuts (any kind as long as they are raw)

4 tbsp Coconut Oil

Handful of raisins

1/4 cup of dried unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)

1/4 cup of chia seeds (optional)

1/4 cup of ground flax seeds(optional)

Sometimes I make this recipe with 2 table spoons of honey but for this sugar free challenge I did not want to use honey.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375.

Add the cups of oats in a pyrex dish. Melt the coconut oil either in the microwave or au bain marie (double boiler).

Add the vanilla and cinnamon to the bowl of melted coconut oil. Mix this together. (if you wish to add honey in your recipe simply place 2 tablespoons into the melted coconut oil at this point)

Mix the nuts into the oats and poor the coconut oil mixture in the pyrex dish. Make sure you stir it well because you want to make sure all the oats are covered in oil. Do not use any of the other ingredients until later.

Place the dish in the oven for about 10 minutes. Stir the granola to make sure it will bake even and leave it in the oven for an other 10 minutes. After a total of 20 minutes in the oven it is time to add the raisins and coconut flakes. The reason you add these ingredients later is simply because they will burn if you it in the oven for too long. I use the coconut flakes that are really thin and they will darken quickly. Once the raisins and coconut flakes are mixed in place the granola in the oven for about 5 more minutes. When you out the granola the raisins will look puffy. No need to worry about this because they will cool down and look normal again. Last, I add in the ground flax seeds and the chia seeds. They are just to add extra nutrition to the granola. Allow your granola to cool down for a while. If it is cooled you can transfer it in a jar or plastic container.

This granola will be perfect in greek yogurt. You can even add some pieces of banana in or berries to give it some natural sweetness.